Health is Wealth…Yoga By: Bev Filer

Valentine’s Day is a special day to express our love! Remember to take care of yourself and your health today and always…That is a self-expression of love! Learning to love oneself is important to be able to love others. After all, they say that…. ”Love begets Love”!

“Health is Wealth” as we all know. Virgil, of ancient Rome, shared this as the wisdom of the ages. Some things don’t change! I have blogged about how to live a healthy lifestyle, which includes good nutrition, exercise, and regular massages. It is clear as I move around Brunswick Plantation that good health is a priority to folks who live here. I see people walking, biking, doing exercises at the Brunswick House, and engaging in a variety of social activities with friends and neighbors. Of course, golf is also a preferred recreation and social activity for many here. The beautiful greens of the Brunswick Plantation and Golf Resort are appreciated by all! “Kudos” to everyone at Brunswick Plantation for taking such good care of themselves and keeping this vibrant community such a delightful place to live!

Have you considered yoga as another element of a healthy lifestyle? Since we do have yoga once a week right here at the Brunswick House, I’m sure that some of you have joined in the practice of this age old science. There are classes Thursdays at 10:00 for anyone who might have a yen for yoga in the future.

For others, you might be asking…Just what is yoga? Well, yoga was developed and perfected over the centuries by philosophers and mystics in India and has been practiced for over 5,000 years. In practice, yoga is an applied science of mind and body. It does not create health but creates an internal environment that allows an individual to come to his own state of dynamic balance or health. Yoga teaches that a healthy person is a harmoniously integrated unit of body, mind, and spirit. Yoga becomes a philosophy that offers instruction and insight into every aspect of life: The spiritual, the mental and the physical. People who want to pick and choose from its smorgasbord can do so without being disappointed. Yoga is equally satisfying as a physical therapy alone.

In Michael Lerner’s , Choices of Healing”, he states that yoga is best known as a set of physical practices that include gentle stretches, breathing practices, and progressive deep relaxation. These physical practices are intended to ready the body and mind for meditation as well as a meditative perspective on life. We might equate this to a feeling of inner peace.

Yoga is also one of the oldest forms of healing therapy. Teams of doctors at a variety of health centers in India, keep detailed records of patients treated with yoga for diabetes, respiratory ailments, digestive complaints, and obesity. Now it is studied and accepted across the globe for its many healing and relaxing effects.
These days, yoga classes are being held at most health and wellness centers across the United States. Along with meditation, it is probably one of the most popular alternative therapies accepted by physicians, who are skeptical about the efficacy of alternative medicine. There are many clinical studies that show the effectiveness of yoga. It can also be done in your home. A few breathing exercises recommended by yoga will go a long way towards better health and relaxation.

Yoga therapy begins with relaxation. Living in an age of anxiety, we are often unconscious of our tensions. Some reasons for our stress may include lack of rest, anxiety, tension and fatigue. A priority in yoga is to get us into a relaxed state. To get us into a relaxed state, yoga employs pranayama (breathing exercise) and meditation and/or visualization.

Asana (Postures) are gentle stretching movements designed to help balance the mind and body. Yoga postures are designed to rejuvenate the brain, spine, glands, and internal organs. The yoga asanas produce their beneficial effect on the organs and glands in three ways:
•The position of the asanas causes an increase in the blood circulation to specific target organ or gland.
•The position of the asana often produces a sight squeezing of the organ or gland. This has the effect of massaging the organ or gland and stimulating it.
•Deep breathing and visualizing the target area sends an extra supply of prana to the area.
(Info for this article taken from Holistic online.com)

On a more personal note, I began doing yoga in Okinawa, Japan when I taught there at the military base many years ago. I even had the opportunity to attend yoga weekends where we practiced yoga twice a day outside while listening to the East China Sea lap against the rocks below. I have to say that I never felt so good after one of those healthy weekends with fresh fruit and natural foods.

Recently while visiting my family in PA., I had an optical migraine. I had a massage and did an hour of yoga at my Wellness Center in Washington, PA. Not only was my migraine gone, but I felt wonderful for the rest of my trip. This is just one of the many convincing experiences with the effects of yoga that have made me a believer!
I have am still finding more yoga opportunities in this area. I will share the information with you. They include:

2 Responses to Health is Wealth…Yoga By: Bev Filer

Hi Admin,
Great blog on the health benefits of yoga and like to add yoga not only helps in losing extra weight but also increase body flexibility and reduce the risk of sport/workout injury. Yoga makes heart and lungs strong and helps in breathing better.http://atkinsonchiropractic.com/libertyville-chiropractor/

Thanks for the comment. We absolutely agree. Yoga is a great way to engage in structured stretching. People underestimate the importance of stretching…..and that can lead to injury. Stretch, stretch, stretch we say!